Pollution is widely in the news nowadays and probably will be for a long time to come. Environmental problems appear in the newspapers almost daily.
According to scientific researches, the build-up of atmospheric C02 (carbon dioxide) has already raised the temperature in the northern hemisphere by 1.8°C since 1970 and will raise it by another 1-2°C in the near future. By 2050 the average annual temperature will be 3-4°C higher than it is now, which will gradually change the climate and the water balance. This forecast was made by a group of specialists at the Congress held in St. Petersburg. Later the World Meteorological Organization made the same forecasts at their conference in Austria. Scientists said that up till 2000 these climatic changes would not have great effect, however, they predicted that winter would become warmer and summer drier in the continental regions of Eurasia. The summer in the Arctic would become warmer, too, and the subtropical zone would stretch out northwards.
At the beginning of the 21st century the climate will start changing on a wider scale. Rainfalls will increase in the northern areas and droughts will happen more often in the south. The specialists say that the rise in temperature calls for international cooperation to cope with the problems of water resources and planning in agriculture.